Editorial: Spirited tone will benefit taxpayers

Members of council and the board of education established a refreshing tone when they sat down recently for a joint meeting to go over matters as called for under Gov. Chris Christie’s ‘Best Practices’ list.

Yes, the two groups could have gone through the motions in order to meet the governor’s mandate and thus keep state aid flowing into the township.

Those who attended offered an assortment of shared goals that can benefit the community — from going paperless to seeing if the township-owned former library on East Holly Avenue has a future as a board of education facility.

The most important result from the meeting just before Christmas was the light-hearted atmosphere in which the session was conducted.

“I liked that it was informal,” Council President Chris Del Borrello said.

Del Borrello observed if the school board was interested in the former library, a reasonable price should be set. He even suggested a lease arrangement with little or no rent until the board of education realized a cost savings.

Council and the board of education left vowing to see what could be done to cooperate on maintaining athletic fields and boost information technology.

Board of Education President Stephen Altamuro suggested the two groups get together more than the once a year stipulation in Christie’s mandate.

Establishing a foundation at the first meeting was more important than achieving any accomplishment. They both acknowledged there was a common good that could arise from the occasional joint meeting.

Besides setting the tone, council and the school board noted they work for the same employer — the taxpayers of Washington Township.

Both council and the board of education seem eager to serve that master. The taxpayers can only benefit from such an approach.